Global Courant
Amid lingering concerns about food insecurity, a newly published national report from Community Food Centers Canada (CFCC) reveals an alarming poverty rate among working-age single people in Canada, three times higher than the national average.
According to the reportPublished Thursday and titled “Sounding the Alarm,” more than one in five single adults (22 percent) live below the poverty line, highlighting that single adults have the highest poverty rates in the country.
Many working-age singles rely on low-wage, part-time, temporary job opportunities without benefits and stability. Existing social support programs are outdated and inadequate for today’s job market, adding to the challenges these individuals face, the report said.
According to the report, nearly one million working-age single people are trapped in a cycle of “deep” poverty with median annual incomes of $11,700, which is less than half of the $25,252 low-income threshold for a single-person household.
These working-age singles make up up to 38 percent of all food-insecure households in the country, of which 61 percent are severely disabled and live only below the poverty line, the report said.
The report highlights that nearly half of single people (47 percent) live in unaffordable housing compared to 17 percent in other households and that 81 percent of shelter users are low-income single adults.
“The evidence is overwhelmingly clear – with woefully inadequate income support programs and a labor market that creates insecurity due to low wages and few benefits, we are trapping people in poverty in this country,” said Nick Saul, CEO of Community Food Centers Canada. press release published Thursday.
In the survey, some participants stated that they experienced difficulties, such as difficulty affording nutritious food or adequate housing, and some participants felt trapped in the social assistance system because transitioning to part-time or contract work would lead to the loss of crucial health benefits.
To fill the support gap for working-age singles, CFCC recommends expanding and improving the existing Canada Workers Benefit to a refundable tax credit called the Canada Working-Age Supplement and working-age singles those living in poverty would receive the allowance whether or not they are attached to the labor market.
“Sounding the alarm illustrates that our governments and employers are leaving working-age singles behind,” Saul added. “We urgently need a national solution that responds to the reality people are expressing in this report. If Canada wants to make life fair for everyone, we need to find the political will to create income policies that lift people out of poverty – not for a week or a month, but for good.”
Coverage for this story was paid for through the Meta-funded The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project.
